Newsblaze.com reports that the U.S. EPA has streamlined regulations for recycling of cathode ray tubes (CRTs) and CRT glass. The EPA hopes that the simplified standards will increase the collection and recycling of CRTs.

EPA is streamlining the federal hazardous waste management requirements for cathode ray tubes and CRT glass destined for recycling. These safe, yet simplified standards aim to increase the collection and recycling of CRTs. Safely recycling CRTs saves energy and conserves resources, allows the recovered lead to be reused in other ways, and reduces the amount of lead in landfills.

"A discarded CRT represents an opportunity lost," said EPA Assistant Administrator Susan Bodine. "This rule will help encourage the reuse and recycling of CRTs, which puts these resources back to productive use, rather than into the Nation's landfills."

Under these new regulations, used, unbroken CRTs are not regulated as hazardous waste unless they are stored for more than a year. EPA is setting simpler, more manageable standards for unbroken CRTs because the risk of lead releases from them is very low. Limited storage requirements apply only to CRT recyclers and collectors.